If there's one thing that THE POWERS THAT BE can do, it's take the PAPA BEAR in me right out of the forest. Here's a situation where I just want to verbally tear into someone's butt, BUT (heh, heh unintentional pun) I can't do that, so, I'm forced to write emails, talk to colleagues (comparing notes) and blog. Angry, vicious blogging. Hang in there, keyboard!

Here's the deal. Like many schools, we have a poverty rate of 75% plus. That means we have a lot of students on free breakfast and lunch. As you might suspect, those two meals are probably the BEST meals a lot of our students get day after day.

As you also might suspect, along with that high poverty rate, you also encounter a certain percentage of other problems like absenteeism and tardiness. It goes with the territory. Concerning this, on one hand, you have a certain percentage of people who don't value education as much as they should. On the other, you have a certain percentage who struggle with life...

There's no doubt about it. The iPod is a game changer. I was one of the lucky ones in my school district. I got in early. I got in before the dark times. I got in before THE EMPIRE. (DA, DA, DA, DUM, DE, DA, DUM, DE, DA).

Let me explain. When the iPhone first came out, I was in awe. I've always been a Mac guy. My wife totally surprised me with an iPhone that Christmas. As soon as I started tooling around with that baby, I knew that I had a special education classroom game changer in my hands. Knowing that there were also devices called iPod Touch out there fueled my fire even more. I had to have them for my classroom.

Why? Let me tell you.

1. Cost. How many computers do you think the special education department purchased for me in 15 years of self containment? I'll give you a hint. It's more than -1 and less than 1. $250 is a lot less than $999 at the time.

2. Touch Screen. With my student population, I always had one or two...

Yep. It's been a while. No, I didn't suffer a nervous breakdown. No prison sentence either. Actually, something WONDERFUL happened- a real life changer- and believe it or not, it's more important than sarcastic blogging.

The last blog post I made was over a year ago. August 26, 2012 to be exact. I knew that my life would be changing in a couple of months then, but I didn't have any idea how much it would change. In October 2012, my step-son and his wife were due to have a baby girl, but I didn't think I'd figure so prominently in the child's life. I figured the wife and I would see the child during the usual times. You know, birthdays, holidays and the occasional overnight babysitting duties. Boy, was I wrong!

It all started around December of last year when the idea of daycare was being tossed around. Where would the child go? Who would watch her? My step-son's wife was lucky enough to be able to take 6 months off of work and would have to return towards...

I have not yet begun reading the intentional teacher, but I have been thinking about how I intend to shift my practice this upcoming school year. First, by getting a handle on my own self control. Then, by making an effort to do more reflecting on y practice during the year. I plan to reference professional texts also so that my practices can improve during the school year. Also, I need to keep and hold PT closer during the year as well. But most important, I want to begin my year by purposely focusing on creating what I've been longing for; a warm classroom environment. my duty as an educator is much more than what I expected it to be. My job is to educate parents and make them aware of ways they can help their children. I thought it crazy to think that parents would not know how important talking and reading with their child really is. Just like I thought is was crazy that they wouldn't know much about healthy eating. Hell, I don't know much about healthy eating, but I am still in a...

Lord please help me be attentive and intentional in my planning and teaching this upcoming school year. Please help me to not be distracted by the negativity of my peers and also not to be distracted by my own negative thinking. Please give me the patience to teach and reteach and practice classroom procedures and stay consistent in doing so. Please give me the confidence not to stray away from things that may not be working first hand. Please help me not to be intimidated by any troubled children or troubling situations. Help me remember that it is a new year with new children and therefore, I should have a new attitude. Also, help me not be intimidated by my colleagues or my administrators. Please guide me to do what I once enjoyed; help me to enjoy it once again. Give me the stamina to deal with the challenges that come with working in an urban, underprivileged neighborhood. Please help me to work hard, give my best, and remember to laugh. Help me to begin reflecting on the specific...

Transitions Teaching children how to work cooperatively Pulling small groups Assessment Shifting my practice

How am I going to shift my practice?What systems am I going to put in place?How am I going to become more of an effective manager of my classroom?How will I stay in my happy place?How will I keep track of ALL of my documentation this year?

How can I keep my practice intentional in the skills I want to teach this year?

It's 4 a.m. and I can't sleep. Usually insomnia rears its ugly head when a new school year approaches, which is kind of the gist of this round of sleeplessness, but it's the late 40s school children who are on my mind this time.

Tonight was my high school reunion. Thirty-one years to be exact. Actually, I don't really feel that old. I guess my failure to mature in early adulthood is reaping its benefits now in middle age. My body may be forty-eight, but my mind is an early thirty-something.

Remember in the late 80s when David Letterman had Sonny and Cher as guests on his show? Everyone wanted to see that reunion happen. As I recall, Letterman pushed it quite a bit further by insisting that they perform just one song together. If you've seen this clip, you might remember that Cher wasn't real keen on the idea, and was kind of peer pressured into it. So, they start singing that famous song, but it's not without its tears. I think I recall Cher...